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[Commentary] ©2000 Phil Hyde, The Timesizing Wire, Box 622, Cambridge MA 02140 USA (617) 623-8080 - Homepage

Mergers&Acquisitions - December, 2000

12/30/2000  8 takeovers reported, worth $11.1B + $$undisclosed -
  1. Vodafone raises Airtel stake [to 74% by buying 39% from 3 sellers for $8.4B: 30.4% from Banco Santander Central Hispano, 5.4% from Acciona & 2.7% from Corp. Financiera Alba], Bloomberg via NYT, B2.
  2. Telenor uses Viag option [to have British Telecommunications buy its 10% stake in Viag Interkom for $1.5B & thereby gain 55% control], Bloomberg via NYT, B2.
  3. Spanish bank's expected move in Brazil - Banco Santander to acquire balance of Banespa for $1.2B, by Jennifer Rich, NYT, B2.
  4. Rhodia, specialty chemicals maker, to sell [European] unit [that makes ingredients for cleaning fluids & detergents to Huntsman Corp. for $??], Bloomberg via NYT, B3.
  5. Henkel, household chemicals maker, in [$??] Colgate deal [to buy Colgate's Mexican detergents business, Reuters via NYT, B3.
  6. Forced bank merger in Korea [- South Korea ordered 4 big banks to merge early in 2001 for $??: Hanvit Bank, Peace Bank of Korea, Kyongnam Bank & Kwangju Bank - with a possibility of SeoulBank as well], Reuters via NYT, B2.
  7. Web video seller in deal [-BigStar Entertainment will sell Advaya division to Expression Engines for $??], Reuters via NYT, B4.
  8. Texas firm sells 4 [Mass.] weeklies to rival Independent group [- American Consolidated Media sells Chelsea Record, Winthrop Sun Transcript, East Boston Sun Transcript, and Revere Journal to rival Independent newspaper chain for $??], by Mark Jurkowitz, Boston Globe, C1.
    ["consolidated media" sounds like just the kind of nightmare we're getting in this country and one that is strangling democracy]
12/29/2000  7 takeovers reported, worth $1.2176B + $$undisclosed -
  1. At auction, AES buys 61.57% of Chilean power company [Gener, for $841.2m], Dow Jones via NYT, C3.
  2. Fulton [Financial] agrees to buy Drovers Bancshares [including 17 Drovers & Mechanics Bank branches, for $144.4m], Bloomberg via NYT, C4.
  3. Williams [Cos.] agrees to sell most [198] of its [Mapco] convenience stores, [most in Tenn., to Convenience USA for $100m], Bloomberg via NYT, C3.
  4. Dentsply [International of Pa.] is buying one business...[- Friadent of Germany, for $100m], Bloomberg via NYT, C3.
  5. Dentsply is buying one business and selling another [- its InfoSoft dental practice software unit to InfoCure of Atlanta for $32m], Bloomberg via NYT, C3.
  6. Humana agrees to sell parts of its [Medicaid] HMO business [in Wisc. & Tex. for $?? to a Centene subsidiary and a joint venture of Centene and a Tex. assoc. of community clinics], Bloomberg via NYT, C3.
  7. WIATT Radio [to buy 14 Kansas stations from Goodstar Broadcasting of Wichita for $??], NYT, C3.
12/28/2000  4 takeovers reported, worth $474.4m -
  1. NRG Energy to buy 2 coal-fired Connecticut plants [in Bridgeport & New Haven from Wisconsin Energy for $350m], Bloomberg via NYT, C3.
  2. Cordiant Communications agrees to buy MicroArts [for $88.1m], Bloomberg via NYT, C3.
  3. U.S. Vision to be bought by Norcross Roberts [for $35m], Bloomberg via NYT, C3.
  4. Video chain buys stores in N.E. [Movie Gallery Inc. has bought 17 stores for $1.3m - 9 in New England from bankrupt rival Video City & 8 from Circus Video in Ill.], Bloomberg via Boston Globe, E8.
12/27/2000  13 takeovers reported, worth $1.4413B + $$undisclosed -
  1. Peabody [Group] set to sell stakes in coal mines [in Australia to Rio Tinto Group for 455+100= $555m], Bloomberg via NYT, C5.
  2. Newport [Corp.] in stock deal for Kensington [Laboratories for up to $320m], Bloomberg via NYT, C3.
  3. Deal for Dacotah Cement assets [- for $252m, Cementos de Chihuahua will get factory in S.D. & distribution network in 9 states], Reuters via NYT, W1.
  4. Fisher Scientific [International, for $137.5m, ] to buy packaging unit of Covance, Reuters via NYT, C3.
  5. NetCreations accepts bid [of $111m from SEAT Pagine Gialle ISP], by Allison Fass, NYT, C3.
  6. Thai Union [Frozen Products, for $38.5m] to buy remain[ing half] of Tri-Union Seafoods, Bloomberg via NYT, C3.
  7. Handspring wireless acquisition [of Bluelark Systems for $16.1m], Bloomberg via NYT, C3.
  8. World Wrestling Federation drops resort project [& sells WWF Hotel & Casino for $11.2m to unidentified buyer], Reuters via NYT, C3.
  9. French airlines merge [- Proteus Airlines, Flandre Air, and Regional Airlines all controlled by Air France will merge next year for $??], by John Tagliabue, NYT, W1.
  10. EarthWeb selling most of its Web sites [14] and news services [= 18 email newsletters, for $??, to Internet.com], by Jayson Blair [=‘Times reporter who resigned leaves long trail of deception,’ 5/11/2003 NYT, A1], NYT, C3.
  11. Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. [of NJ and Marubeni of Tokyo, for $??, bought Vivendi Universal's stake in Tunisian powerplant, giving them control], NYT, C3.
  12. Remec Inc. [of San Diego to buy Pacific Microwave of Philippines for $??], NYT, C3.
  13. Miscellany [- Array Marketing Group to buy American Manufacturing Co. for $??], by Allison Fass, NYT, C2.
12/23/2000  6 takeovers reported, worth $3.6614B + $undisclosed -
  1. [J.] Sainsbury, British supermarket chain, sells Homebase [home-improvement for $1.4B chain to Schroder Ventures (majority stake) and Kingfisher], Bloomberg via NYT, B3.
  2. Deal for Dutch utility [- Grupo Endesa to buy Regionale Energie Maatschappij Utrecht (REMU) $1.06B], by Benjamin Jones, NYT, B2.
  3. Eureko N.V. [to buy Foreign & Colonial Mgmt Ltd, London, for $610.4m], NYT, B3.
  4. Marathon Oil to acquire Pennaco Energy [for 446+54= $500m], Reuters via NYT, B14.
  5. Manulife Financial Corp. [of Toronto to buy Commercial Union Life Holdings of Britain for $91m], NYT, B3.
  6. Levitz set to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy [by court-mandated combination with rival Seaman Furniture for $??], Bloomberg via NYT, B3.
12/22/2000  12 takeovers reported, worth $8.52B + $undisclosed -
  1. Northrup Grumman to buy Litton [Industries] in $3.8B deal, pointer digest (to C2), NYT, C1.
  2. $1.85B deal severs links of [Rockefeller] family [from] Rockefeller Center [- Jerry Speyer, developer, and Lester Crown family of Chicago buy out partners David Rockefeller, Goldman Sachs Group, Agnelli family of Italy, and Stavros Niarchos estate], by Charles Bagli, NYT, front page.
  3. Microsoft pays $1.1B for N.D. firm, [Great Plains Software], AP via Boston Globe, D2.
  4. El Paso Energy to sell pipelines as part of [$840m] acquisition [of PG&E gas business in Texas], Bloomberg via NYT, C4.
  5. PowerGen says it is selling [Rye House power] plant to Scottish Power, [all in UK, for $325m], Dow Jones via NYT, C4.
  6. Morgan Stanley [Dean Witter] agrees to buy British brokerage firm, [Quilter Holdings from CGNU and Credit Commercial de France for $254m], Bloomberg via NYT, C4.
  7. United Utilities [bought Hyder PLC's industrial-services unit, both in England, for $110m], NYT, C4.
  8. London food giant [Compass Group] buys Au Bon Pain [for est. $108m], by Chris Reidy, Boston Globe, D3.
  9. Marconi [to sell Woods fan-making unit for $78m], NYT, C4.
  10. Charles River Labs [International] buys Md. company [Pathology Assocs. International, for $37m], Bloomberg via Boston Globe, D7.
  11. Marconi [to buy Telit Networks for $18m], NYT, C4.
  12. Westdeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale [to buy US-based Boullioun Aviation Services for $??], NYT, C4.
12/21/2000  6 takeovers reported, worth $3.19B + $undisclosed -
  1. Buffett['s Berkshire Hathaway] buys company crippled by asbestos suits, [Johns Manville, for $1.9B], by Andrew Sorkin, NYT, C6.
  2. Swedish insurance deal [- Handelsbanken to buy life insurance & mutual fund units of SPP for $730m], Bloomberg via NYT, W1.
  3. Control of Malaysian carrier sold [- Malaysian gov't to buy back a controlling 29.1% stake of Malaysian Airlines System from Naluri for $471m], AP via NYT, W1.
  4. Hewlett-led group [named Converge Inc. that includes Compaq, Hitachi, Agilent and 11 other firms] buys a marketplace, [NECX, VerticalNet's components trading exchange, for $60m & a 19% stake in itself], by Laurie Flynn, NYT, C4.
  5. Becton, Dickinson & Co. [of NJ to buy Gentest of Ma. for $29m], NYT, C4.
  6. Visteon Corp. [of Mich. bought LTD Parts of Tenn. for $??], NYT, C4.
12/20/2000  17 takeovers reported, worth $12.2223B + $$undisclosed -
  1. For $8B, Seagram sells alcohol brands [such as Chivas Regal & Absolut, to Britain's Diageo and France's Pernod Ricard], AP via Boston Globe, C2.
  2. Ciena buying Cyras [Systems] for $2B, by Andrew Sorkin, NYT, C4.
  3. Controlling stake in Entel [bought by Telecom Italia for $820m], Bloomberg via NYT, W1.
  4. Energis [of Britain] to buy Ision [Internet of Germany from Distefora Holding for $725m], by Suzanne Kapner, NYT, W1.
  5. Ferrovial [of Madrid bought Bristol Airport & linked acreage in England for $289m], NYT, C3.
  6. Brazilian lender acquired [- Unibanco paid Grupo Icatu $245m for other 50% of Banco Fininvest], by Jennifer Rich, NYT, W1.
  7. LoisLaw.com takes $95m bid [from Wolters Kluwer of Holland to be merged with Wolters' Aspen Publishing in Md.], by Catherine Greenman, NYT, C4.
  8. Toro Assicurazioni [to buy 2 Italian units from Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Group of England for $48.3m], NYT, C3.
  9. BP Amoco and Solvay to swap plastics businesses [- BP will get Solvay's polypropylene unit to add to its petrochemicals business, for $??], Bloomberg via NYT, C3.
  10. BP Amoco and Solvay to swap plastics businesses [- Solvay will get BP's engineering polymers business, for $??], Bloomberg via NYT, C3.
  11. Castle Harlan [bought Associated Packaging Enterprises for $??], NYT, C3.
  12. Havas to merge units in Europe [e.g., Havas Advertising is merging its HR communication units in UK & France (Euro RSCG Futurs, the Link and Riley) with EMDS in Brussels, for $??], by Stuart Elliott, NYT, C5.
  13. Havas to merge units in Europe [e.g., True North Communications in Chicago bought Acam in Paris for $??], by Stuart Elliott, NYT, C5.
  14. Havas to merge units in Europe [e.g., True North Communications to buy Hahnin in Seoul for $??], by Stuart Elliott, NYT, C5.
  15. Young & Rubicam holds onto a MetLife account amid a flurry of change and consolidation [e.g., Sub-Zero Freezer bought Wolf line of cooking products for $??], by Stuart Elliott, NYT, C5.
  16. EMI buys [75% of Dino Music, a] Dutch label, [for $??], Bloomberg via NYT, W1.
  17. Wells Fargo unit, [Foothill Capital] buys Paragon [Capital of Ma. for $??], by Chris Reidy, Boston Globe, C7.
12/19/2000  8 takeovers reported, worth $4.3919B + $$undisclosed -
  1. VNU agrees to buy ACNielsen for $2.3B, Bloomberg via NYT, C4.
  2. Regions Financial agrees to buy Morgan Keegan [for $789m], Bloomberg via NYT, C4.
  3. Belgium firm [KBC Bancassurance Holding] buys London broker, [Peel Hunt, for $392.6m], Bloomberg via NYT, W1.
  4. Deal for Spanish directories [- France Telecom's Internet unit Wanadoo to buy Indice Multimedia for $323m], by Benjamin Jones, NYT, W!.
  5. Perkins Foods PLC [to be bought by group led by its CEO for $270.3m], NYT, C4.
  6. Saputo Inc. [of Que. to buy Dairywood Foods of Vancouver for $267m], NYT, C4.
  7. Crown Central Petroleum Corp. [to be bought by Rosemore Inc. for $50m], NYT, C4.
  8. Merrill Lynch & Co. [sold its mortgage loan unit, Merrill Lynch Credit Corp, to Cendant Corp for $??], NYT, C4.
12/17/2000  1 weekend takeover reported, worth $?? - 12/16/2000  10 takeovers reported, worth $7.9418B + $$undisclosed -
  1. Big chemical companies reshuffling units [e.g., BASF will sell its drug business to Abbott Laboratories for $6.9B], by Edmund Andrews, NYT, B2.
  2. Enron to buy back a stock issue at half what public paid [- will own 2/3 stake in Azurix for $330m], by Floyd Norris, NYT, B3.
  3. Deal for Brazil data networks [- Portugal Telecom to buy telecoms networks of 2 Brazilian banks, Unibanco and Banco Bradesco, for $281m], by Benjamin Jones, NYT, B2.
  4. Mitel to sell [most of its office phone-]equipment unit for $230.8m to firms controlled by a Mitel cofounder, Terry Matthews], Bloomberg via NYT, B2.
  5. MediaNews [Group, for $200m] allowed to buy Utah paper [Salt Lake Tribune] from AT&T, by Felicity Barringer, NYT, B3.
  6. Shockwave.com sets AtomFilms takeover [for $??], by Amy Harmon, NYT, B3.
  7. ManuLife Financial Corp.['s Japanese joint venture with Daihyaku Mutual Life Insurance to take over all 32m of Daihyaku's policies for $??], NYT, B3.
  8. Phillips, the [3d-place] auction house, set to merge with de Pury [& Luxembourg of Geneva for $??], by Carol Vogel, NYT, B3.
  9. Big chemical companies reshuffling units [e.g., Veba and RWE, both in Germany, recently merged to form E.ON, for $?? - or do they mean VEW and RWE, per our 2/24/2000 story? - or is VEW another name for Veba?], by Edmund Andrews, NYT, B2.
  10. Big chemical companies reshuffling units [e.g., Degussa-Huels and SKW Trostberg, both controlled by E.ON A.G., are merging for $??], by Edmund Andrews, NYT, B2.
12/15/2000  11 takeovers reported, worth $8.553B + $$undisclosed -
  1. Abbott is said to be buying BASF drug business [for $6B], Bloomberg via NYT, C4.
  2. Telecommunications deal in Belgium [- Royal KPN's mobile telephone subsidiary will buy out France Telecom's 50% stake in KPN Orange Belgium for 438+219= $657m], by Suzanne Kapner, NYT, W1.
  3. British builders to merge [- Bryant Group and Beazer Group to merge for $562m], Bloomberg via NYT, W1.
  4. In need of cash soon, Xerox sells China operations to Fuji [Xerox, for $550m], by Claudia Deutsch, NYT, W1.
  5. PSEG Global is acquiring 90% of Argentine company, [Empresa Distribuidora de Electricidad de Entre Rios, for 200+80= $280m], Dow Jones via NYT, C4.
  6. Securicor Group [of London to buy airport & commercial security units of AHL Services of Altanta for $185m], NYT, C4.
  7. Bodycote International [of England to buy Lindberg Corp. of Ill. for $164m], NYT, C4.
  8. Cisco [Systems] adds a company, [ExiO Communications, for $155m], by Simon Romero, NYT, C4.
  9. 2 French film companies, [Pathe and Gaumont, for $??,] to combine theater networks [into "EuroPalaces" - with Pathe owning 66%], Bloomberg via NYT, C4.
  10. Princeton Video [Image in NJ] to buy Mexican unit [Publicidad Virtual de CV, for $??], by Stuart Elliott, NYT, C2.
  11. Hong Kong banks to merge [- Bank of China, for $??, to merge its HK operations with 10 sister banks to create HK's 2d-biggest bank after HSBC], by Craig Smiith, NYT, W1.
12/14/2000  10 takeovers reported, worth $2.0775B + $$undisclosed -
  1. German utilities sold [- Veag and its coal-supplier Laubag sold for $1.4B to Vattenfall of Sweden], Bloomberg via NYT, W1.
  2. Allied Domecq buying 2 champagne labels, [G.H. Mumm & Cie and Champagne Perrier-Jouët, from Hicks Muse Tate & Furst for $506m], by Suzanne Kapner, NYT, W1.
  3. Wireless companies to merge [- Aether Systems to buy RTS Wireless for $111.5m], by Simon Romero, NYT, C4.
  4. NY company [ProAct Technologies] to buy Boston's Interlynx [Technology for $60m], Bloomberg via Boston Globe, D9.
  5. Carlsberg makes Coke concessions to secure Orkla [for $?? - Will stop selling Coca-Cola in Sweden to win antitrust approval & also sell off 7 beer brands & rights to 5 imports], Bloomberg via NYT, C4.
    [Like, why bother merging? This isn't "efficiency" - it's just acute boredom.]
  6. Ralcorp Holdings Inc. [to buy Torbitt & Castleman's syrups, sauces, jams & jellies business for $??], NYT, C4.
  7. Investec Group Ltd. [of Johannesburg to buy Radcliffes Trustee Co. in Geneva for $??], NYT, C4.
  8. Investec Group Ltd. [of South Africa to buy Theodores Trust & Law Group of Jersey, Channel Is., for $??], NYT, C4.
  9. Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. [of L.A. to buy Viking Materials in Minneapolis for $??], NYT, C4.
  10. Robert Bosch GmbH [of Stuttgart to buy Rexroth for $?? after selling a unit to win antitrust approval], NYT, C4.
    [Bosch wins as Bush wins - Pyrrhically.]
12/13/2000  4 takeovers reported, worth $1.423B + $$undisclosed -
  1. Energy company [Constellation Energy's Constellation Nuclear Group unit, for $1.04B] buys 80% stake in 2 nuclear plants [at Nine Mile Pt, from Niagara Mohawk, NY State Gas & Electric, Rochester Gas & Electric, and Central Hudson Gas & Electric, and assumes responsibility for eventual decommissioning costs], AP via NYT, C4.
  2. Acquisition will create largest trucker in N. America [- Swift Transportation to buy M.S. Carriers for $383m], Bloomberg via NYT, C4.
  3. Phillips Petroleum [to buy 101 gas stations in 15 states from Coastal Corp. for $??], NYT, C4.
  4. Company of the cover girls prepares to join a new team [- Ford Models is being bought by Magnum Sports & Entertainment for $??], by Edward Wong, NYT, C17.
12/12/2000  14 takeovers reported, worth $7.9882B + $$undisclosed -
  1. Shire [Pharmaceuticals of Britain pays] $4B for BioChem [Pharma], by Andrew Pollack, NYT, C6.
  2. Thomson [Multimedia of France] buys Technicolor [film processing unit of Carlton Communications of Britain for $2.07B], by Alan Cowell, NYT, W1.
  3. Sasol [of South Africa] buys chemical maker, [German RWE's Condea unit, for $1.14B], Bridge News via NYT, W1.
  4. American Skiing set to acquire MeriStar Hotels [& Resorts for 135+95.2= $230.2m], Bloomberg via NYT, C4. [But note "American Skiing and MeriStar halt merger plans," AP via 3/24/2001 NYT, B3.]
  5. Sale would permit merger of 2 California banks [- People's Bank of California (PBOC) Holdings to be sold to FBOP Corp. (First Bank of Peoria??) of Oak Park, Ill. for $200m and merged with FBOP's California National Bank unit in L.A.], Bloomberg via NYT, C4.
  6. Sierra Pacific Resources [to sell the Nevada Power Co. plant to Reliant Energy for $106m], NYT, C4.
  7. IBM selling Tivoli [Systems service-desk software] unit [to Peregrine Systems for $105m], by Chris Gaither, NYT, C6.
  8. Saia Burgess [of Switzerland will buy TRW's Ledex & Dormeyer unit in the U.S. for $56m], NYT, C4.
  9. Biotransplant [to buy Eligix, both in Boston MA area, for $55.3m], NYT, C4.
  10. McLeod Russel Holdings [of London to buy Zellweger Luwa's Swiss air & liquid filter business for $25.7m], NYT, C4.
  11. Merck KGaA [of Germany bought majority stake in Molteni Pharma of Italy for $??], NYT, C4.
  12. Agency buys 2 others... [- Hawkeye Communications in NYC bought e.g., DPS Creative in Minneapolis for $??], by Elliott & Fass, NYT, C8.
  13. Agency buys 2 others... [- Hawkeye Communications in NYC bought e.g., BDS Beechwood in London for $??], by Elliott & Fass, NYT, C8.
  14. Agency buys 2 others, and PR shops merge [- DeFrancesco/Goodfriend and L.C. Williams & Assocs. are merging for $??],by Elliott & Fass, NYT, C8.
12/09/2000  5 takeovers reported, worth $788m + $$undisclosed -
  1. [Picadilly] Trocadero owner to change hands [- Thayer Properties to buy Burford Holdings for $720m], Bloomberg via NYT, B2.
  2. American Standard Cos. [of NJ will sell its Calorex water heater business to Grupo Industrial Saltillo of Mexico for $68m], NYT, B3.
  3. Sunoco agrees to [$??] purchase of [103] Coastal [gas] stations, Bloomberg via NYT, B3.
  4. TRW Inc. [sold Marc products & services unit to investment mgmt group led by Washington Investment Partners for $??], NYT, B3.
  5. Cox [Newspapers of Atlanta, for $?? from Westward Communications of Houston,] buys 6 Texas [weekly] papers, AP via NYT, B2.
12/08/2000  12 takeovers reported, worth $3.796B + $$undisclosed -
  1. Univision says it will buy [, for $1.1B, 13] stations from USA Networks, AP via NYT, C3.
  2. Shaw [Communications] of Canada agrees to buy smaller cable rival [Moffat Communications. for $784m], Bloomberg via NYT, C3.
  3. Best Buy is acquiring Musicland [Stores for 425+260= $685m]..., AP via NYT, C3.
  4. Emulex to buy Giganet for $645m in stock, by Ross Kerber, Boston Globe, D3.
  5. State Street agrees to buy Bel Air for $217m, Bloomberg via NYT, C3.
  6. Nokia buying security provider [Ramp Networks, for $126m], by Simon Romero, NYT, C3.
  7. Best Buy is acquiring...Magnolia Hi-Fi [for $87m], AP via NYT, C3.
  8. MISR Chemical Industry [will sell sodium-carbonate plant to a state company, all in Egypt, for $87m], NYT, C3.
  9. Lamson & Sessions [to buy Ameriduct Worldwide for $65m], NYT, C3.
  10. Agilent [Technologies] is selling automation software unit to Verano [for $??], Bloomberg via NYT, C3.
  11. Agilent [Technologies] to acquire ATN Microwave [for $??], Bloomberg via Boston Globe, D6.
  12. H.J. Heinz['s food service division is buying Alden Merrell of Mass. for $??], NYT, C3.
    [Oh no, little Alden Merrell makes the world's best chocolate cakes & now giant Heinz will ruin it.]
12/07/2000  8 takeovers reported, worth $2.879B + $$undisclosed -
  1. Big merger in Net access for Europe [- France Telecom's Wanadoo unit to buy biggest UK ISP, Freeserve, for $2.37B], by Alan Cowell, NYT, W1.
  2. Polycom buys Israeli equipment maker, [Accord Networks, for $339m], by Andrew Sorkin, NYT, C4.
  3. Hasbro issues 4th-quarter earnings warning [- will sell its Hasbro Interactive & Games.com units to Infogrames Entertainment of France for $100m], Bloomberg via NYT, C4.
  4. Motorola deal with Canadian supplier [- sells 2 plants to Celestica of Toronto for $70m], by Timothy Pritchard, NYT, C4.
  5. Textron to buy telecommunications manufacturer, [Tempo Research, for $??], Bloomberg via NYT, C4.
  6. K + S [of Germany to buy Reckitt Benckiser's Gesal business in England for $??], NYT, C4.
  7. Diageo [of London to buy its 2d half of Bundaberg Rum brand from Bundaberg Sugar Group of Australia for $??], NYT, C4.
  8. Silverstream [Software, for $??,] buys Bondi Software, Dow Jones via Boston Globe, D9.
12/06/2000  12 takeovers reported, worth $2.8449B + $undisclosed -
  1. C & N [Touristic of Germany] to acquire control of Thomas Cook [Group of Britain - buying last 22% stake from Carlson Cos. for $799.7m], by Suzanne Kapner via NYT, W1.
  2. Imperial Chemical to sell three units to Ineos [Group for $470m], Bloomberg via NYT, C4.
  3. BB&T, a bank group, will buy Century South [Banks for $428.2m in] stock, Bloomberg via NYT, C4.
  4. British investment firm [Duke Street Capital, for $410m,] to buy [Great Mills] home improvement [store] chain, Bloomberg via NYT, C4.
  5. Ireland selling two banks...[e.g., gov't of Eire to sell TSB Bank to Irish Life & Permanent for $379m], by Brian Lavery, NYT, W1.
  6. Ireland selling two banks...[e.g., Irish gov't to sell its 85.1% stake in ICC Bank to Bank of Scotland for $308m], by Brian Lavery, NYT, W1.
    [Oh the ignominy! The opprobium! An Irish bank sold off to the Scots!]
  7. International Rectifier Corp. [to buy Unisem, both of Calif., for $50m], NYT, C4.
  8. Safeway agrees to acquire Genuardi's Family Markets [for $??], Bloomberg via NYT, C18.
  9. Microsoft adds game maker [Digital Anvil, for $??] to portfolio, Reuters via NYT, C8.
  10. Fusion Networks [in Miami] acquiring consultant, [Full Moon Interactive in L.A. for $??], by Stuart Elliott, NYT, C8.
  11. Fusion Networks acquiring consultant [& Draft Worldwide in Chicago acquiring Clouseau S.L. in Barcelona for $??], by Stuart Elliott, NYT, C8.
  12. Pathmark to buy 6 Grand Union stores [for $??], Bloomberg via Boston Globe, D2.
12/05/2000  6 takeovers reported, worth $4.2036B + $undisclosed -
  1. Cardinal Health to buy Bindley Western [Industries for 1.67+.43= $2.1B], Bloomberg via NYT, C4.
  2. Tyco International to buy Simplex Time Recorder [for $1.15B], Bloomberg via NYT, C4.
    Tyco, which is based in Bermuda and run from...NH, has made more than $40B in acquisitions in the last 4 yrs.
    [When ya gonna start managing and stop merging, Tyco? Tyco is The Borg of economic diversity deadening.]
  3. Agribrands to be bought by Cargill for $502m, Reuters via NYT, C4.
  4. Sun [Microsystems, for $400m,] to acquire HighGround Systems, Bridge News via NYT, C4.
  5. Icon MediaLab International A.B. [to buy majority of Icon Medialab Asia for $51.6m], NYT, C4.
  6. BlueLight.com to buy Spinway assets [for $??], by Laurie Flynn, NYT, C4.
12/04/2000  1 weekend takeover reported, worth $13.4B -
  1. Pepsi to buy Quaker Oats for $13.4B in stock, pointer digest (to A23), NYT, C1.
12/02/2000  4 takeovers reported, worth $1.0433B + $undisclosed -
  1. Group [including Bain Capital, TA Assocs., & Silver Lake Partners] to buy controlling interest in Datek Online for $700m, Bloomberg via NYT, B3.
  2. ARC, a Canadian fund, to purchase Startech Energy, [both in Calgary, for $216m], Bloomberg via NYT, B3.
  3. Associated British Ports Holdings PLC [sold Red Funnel Group to J.P. Morgan International Capital for $102m], Bloomberg via NYT, B3.
  4. Advanced Neuromodulation Systems Inc. [to buy Hi-tronics Designs for $25.3m], Bloomberg via NYT, B3.
12/01/2000  6 takeovers reported, worth $1.697B + $undisclosed -
  1. Kinder Morgan agrees to buy two pipelines from GATX [for $1.15B], Bloomberg via NYT, C3.
  2. Advertising - A long courtship ends as Deutsch, the last of the big independents, says yes to Interpublic [Group of Companies, for $250m], by Stuart Elliott, NYT, C5.
  3. Apartment Investment [& Mgmt] agrees to acquire Oxford [Tax-Exempt] Fund [for $206m], Bloomberg via NYT, C3.
  4. InfoSeek Japan changing hands [- Rakuten will buy it for $82.5m], by Stephanie Strom, NYT, C3.
  5. Corning [will buy NoTox unit of Silentor NoTox of Copenhagen for $8.5m], NYT, C3.
  6. Havas [Advertising in Paris in $??] cash deal for New York firm [Abernathy MacGregor Group], by Stuart Elliott, NYT, C5.
For earlier Mergers&Acquisitions, click on the desired date -
  • Oct-Nov/2000
  • Aug-Sept/2000
  • July/2000
  • June/2000
  • May/2000
  • Mar-Apr/2000
  • Jan-Feb/2000
  • Dec/1999
  • Nov-Oct/99
  • Sept/99
  • Aug/99
  • July 16-31/99
  • July 1-15/99
  • June 16-30/99
  • June 1-15/99
  • Apr-May/99
  • Mar/99
  • Feb/99 and before

    For more details, our laypersons' guide to our great economic future Timesizing, Not Downsizing is available at bookstores in Harvard Square, Cambridge, Mass. or from *Amazon.com online.

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